Social Media Literacies

Can we teach children how to interpret information on social network sites?  

As teachers and parents we can advise our youth how to become social media literate.

children social networking

    The increase use of social network sites by children as well as adults has significantly changed how we communicate or how we are more comfortable communicating.  The issue however is not only how we communicate it is with whom and how we interpret the messages received, while evaluating whether the information they are exposed to is real or fake.  We know that social network sites are not going anywhere, but rather increasing in popularity and use.

So yes, we can implement tools and strategies that help users become more literate.  

    Rheingold offers a set of five literacy categories in his article, Attention and Other 21st Century Social Media Literacies.  The important literacy categories are: attention, participation, collaboration, network awareness, and critical consumption, also know as, “crap detection".  As we’ve become more sophisticated in the ways we use the web, we need to adjust how we use it, being able to tell fact from opinions, rumors or and even lies. 

Here is a quote from Rheingold himself, "Attention is a limited resource, so pay attention to where you pay attention." – Howard Rheingold (attention). What he is saying is be aware of how you are utilizing your attention and what decisions you are making.

Participation online gives us a voice and we can take this opportunity to become a part of our society.  His comment from the article sums it up, you can choose to be a passive citizen or an active citizen, "When you participate, you become an active citizen rather than simply a passive consumer of what is sold to you, what is taught to you, and what your government wants you to believe."  If you want to partake in making a difference we can easily and quickly.  

Collaboration; collaborating has never been easier than now that we have social media.  We can reach out to whomever quickly and gives is more power all together vs attempting it alone.  

Network Awareness is an important component of social media literacy awareness because now due to the technological network advancements we can contact pretty much anyone we wish to.  Another citation from the article that I found intriguing was, "The technical networks amplify and extend the fundamental human capability of forming social networks. Understanding the nature of networks— technical and social—is essential. Doing so is not just a matter of engineering but also a question of freedom."  

Finally he incorporates Critical Consumption aka “crap detection” into a social media literacy category.  As educators we can help students develop the capacity for critical thinking. 

    

 

                                                    21st-Century Critical Thinkers